New Spending Bill Extends Protection for Medical Cannabis

President Trump on Friday signed the recently passed omnibus spending bill. The bill will fund the federal government through September 30, 2017. The law includes the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment (formerly known as the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment), which prohibits the Justice Department from using any federal funds to prosecute state-legal medical cannabis operators.

We had hoped Congress would extend similar protection to purveyors of recreational cannabis as well, but that will have to wait for the next round. Nevertheless, this remains an important victory for the cannabis community nationwide, as the amendment is among our most important legal protections at the federal level.

“Medical marijuana patients and the businesses that support them now have a measure of certainty,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), a co-sponsor of the bill along with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). “But this annual challenge must end. We need permanent protections for state-legal medical marijuana programs, as well as adult-use.”